Runaway Boston train was tampered with, governor says

[Tab]

Source: CBS News

BOSTON -- A six-car train with passengers on board that left a suburban Boston transit station without a driver Thursday and went through four stations without stopping was tampered with, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said.
...
MBTA operations eventually disabled the train and brought it to a stop by cutting off power to the electrified third rail, officials said. An initial investigation indicated that a safety device within the train's cab may have been tampered with.

"This train was tampered with, and it was tampered with by somebody who knew what they were doing," Baker said during an interview on Boston Herald Radio.
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Passenger Fernanda Daly told WBZ-TV that when the lights went out on the train, riders knocked on the booth but found no conductor inside.

"The whole train started going slow, the lights went off and everything just stopped down between Quincy and JFK and we stayed there for about 30 minutes," the female passenger said.

"It was all dark, everything was quiet. It was just us. We had no idea what was going on," Daly said.

The woman said at first, passengers believed there was a gunshot and someone was injured, but that was not the case.

Some people attempted to break windows, while others attempted to pry open the doors, according to Daly.

"It was just kind of scary," she said.

Each train has only one operator.

The MBTA described the conductor involved in the incident as a "longtime employee."

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/driverless-mbta-train-carrying-50-travels-through-4-boston-stops/

[murielm99]

1. Maybe they need to break down and

have more than one employee. Would it help? Knowing what some retired railroaders in my family say about train safety, the situation may be similar. Maybe increased security would be a good idea, too.

[840high]

2. Security would be good.

[winstars]

3. Anyone see Eric Roberts or Jon Voight near this train???

[Hortensis]

4. What KIND of "safety device?" Was this a cyber attack?

No information beyond "safety device" was given out. The driver got out and the train left on its own.

A search on "cyber" reveals only that others are wondering.

[brooklynite]

6. No - train was not automated

See my comments below

[Hortensis]

8. DU's own transport professional? Great. Thanks,

Brooklynite. So at least North Korea's not tweaking its weaponry in this case.

I was automatically glad to hear it wasn't employee negligence, with all that would lead to, and I actually prefer that "all that" land on someone who would do such a thing on purpose, even though the why is likely to be pathetically petty.

[brooklynite]

5. As a transportation professional, let me offer some perspective

The MBTA trains are not automated - if they were, the computers could have overridden the setting and stopped it without shutting down the power.

It is likely that the rail cars were new enough to have a button-based start up, rather than a traditional throttle. It could likely have been engaged through the cab window from the platform, so the instigator wasn't trapped on the train.

Trains are equipped with what is know as a dead-man feature, e.g a device that the operator must keep recurrent or continual pressure on to prevent the brakes from operating. It sounds as though the device was tied down to prevent it from engaging.

Trains are also equipped with a passenger activated emergency brake. My guess is that passengers thought the train was being operated by someone, and weren't sufficiently worried to activate it.

Service on the Braintree branch operates at 9 minute intervals; total service in downtown Boston operates every 4-5 minutes. The trains probably could have gone several more miles before getting close to the train in front of it.

[alcibiades_mystery]

7. It'll run forever 'neath the streets of Boston...

[annabanana]

9. Ha!.. Also my first thought

(once I knew no one was hurt, of course)